Tamil movie star Silambarasan is popularly known as Simbu by his fans in Tamil Nadu and they also hail him as the heir to handle the reins of superstar Rajnikanth. Other than winning the favouritism of Tamil audience, he is as much popular with Telugu fans also with seven of his 12 movies being dubbed in Telugu. He is in Canada for an 8 to 10 week shooting schedule of the upcoming film Mr Poda and Mrs Podi, to be directed by schoolmate Vignesh Siva and produced by Roger Nair Production. He is winning hearts there as well with a Canadian daily calling him the ‘Tom Cruise of India’. In a star show at Toronto's Roger Center 34,000 people turned up to watch him. This gives us the dope that he would be doing a Hollywood venture in English language to be shot in Canada and the US with a budget of around $20 million meant for the international audience.

Excerpts from an Interview:

Tell us about your experience in Canada?

This is the first time I have come to Canada and I’m shooting here. I have visited England many times but not this part of the world. The experience here has been so far so good except the immigration. Here in Toronto I could visualise my scenes as after I go through the script I know what the film is going to be about. Toronto was ideal for the film.

How is the script of your film and this place co-ordinated?

The film is directed by Vignesh Siva who was my junior in school. He came to me with the script and I instantly recognised him. The script was thrilling. The film is about a guy who is from Indian and falls in love with an Indian girl born and raised in Toronto. Both of them think and behave differently. How they meet, how love happens and what happens after is the crux of the film following a happy ending. The female face will probably be a newcomer and is yet to be finalised.

The shoot is to begin here by August 15. The songs will be canned in Orillia, which has some breathtaking locales. There is a good waterfront, the Huronia Regional Center property, and the city's Victorian-style houses. The rest of the film will be shot in downtown Toronto. The crew will come over from India, and we hope to complete it in 8 to 10 weeks.

Also there is Hollywood movie happening for you?

Producer of the film Roger Nair and I are discussing the film I had earlier done for Hollywood. He liked the script and we are finalising the crew and other experts. The film will be shot in Canada and US. The film will be a mix of thrill and romance. It will be the kind of film that Hollywood audience like. This is something that I am doing for the first time. I have written the script and planning to associate with another scriptwriter to develop it. The crew and talent should be from Hollywood.

At the age of 24 you’ve scaled to such heights. How do you feel?

I owe to my father who exposed me to films just at the age of nine months holding me in a scene in one of his films. After that acting has become a continuous process for me. My father, T Rajender, is a director, producer, actor, script writer, screenplay writer, lyricist, cameraman, editor and what not. He is the only person in the Indian film industry who handles about a dozen things at the same time.

When I was younger, I acted in children films and by the time I was twelve, he made a movie in which I played the lead role, the hero. I did 15 films as a child actor, and as an adult hero, I have done 12 films, all in Tamil. Six or seven of my Tamil films were also dubbed in Telugu and became big hits, so I have a good following in Andhra Pradesh as well. I am yet to do an English film.